WHO chief laments lack of solidarity
THE novel coronavirus pandemic is still accelerating and its effects will be felt for decades, the World Health Organization’s director-general told an online conference yesterday.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual health forum organized by Dubai authorities that the greatest threat facing the world is not the virus itself but “the lack of global solidarity and global leadership.”
“We cannot defeat this pandemic with a divided world. The politicization of the pandemic has exacerbated it. None of us is safe until all of us are safe.”
The WHO on Sunday reported the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases by its count, at more than 183,000 new cases in the latest 24 hours.
The United Nations health agency said Brazil led the way with 54,771 cases tallied and the United States next at 36,617. India came next with over 15,400.
Experts said rising case counts can reflect multiple factors, including more widespread testing as well as broader infection.
Overall in the pandemic, WHO reported 8,708,008 cases — 183,020 in the last 24 hours — with 461,715 deaths worldwide, with a daily increase of 4,743.
More than two-thirds of those new deaths were reported in the Americas.
The WHO warned last week of a new and dangerous phase of the pandemic, with people tiring of lockdowns despite the disease’s rapid spread.
The COVID-19 illness is surging in the Americas and parts of Asia, even as Europe starts to ease restrictions.
Virus-induced lockdowns have caused crippling economic damage but the WHO says the pandemic still poses a major threat. “The pandemic is still accelerating,” Tedros said.
“We know that the pandemic is much more than a health crisis, it is an economic crisis, a social crisis and in many countries a political crisis,” he said.
“Its effects will be felt for decades to come.”
A vaccine remains elusive despite several trials, while scientists are still discovering more about the virus, its symptoms and the extent to which it may have spread before being identified.
(Agencies)